Maine Public Utilities Commission

“It is imperative that we act now to drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions if we are to have any hope of avoiding the most catastrophic impacts of climate change,” said Sean Mahoney, Executive Vice President and Director of CLF Maine. “Replacing energy from polluting fracked gas plants with hydropower will reduce emissions at the scale necessary to make a difference in New England.”

“The House should be commended for representing the interests of Mainers who deserve a clean energy future,” said CLF attorney Emily Green. “Now our leaders must show courage and conviction in the face of a Governor who wants to sabotage Maine’s energy independence. We cannot risk the jobs and affordable energy that this bill will bring by allowing LePage to ignore the will of Mainers in favor of lining the pockets of big utilities.”

“This senseless rule jeopardizes the growth of clean, local solar energy in Maine,” said CLF Maine Director Sean Mahoney. “Today the PUC pulled back to avoid an inevitable catastrophe. But delaying implementation doesn’t fix the fact that this rule hurts businesses and families, hampers our energy independence, and harms one of the fastest growing sectors of Maine’s economy. We need to eliminate this disastrous policy, not just procrastinate its implementation.”

CLF took the Maine Public Utilities Commission to court today for underfunding the state’s three-year energy efficiency budget by $30 million – resulting in losses of $270 million dollars for Maine citizens and businesses. You read that right – shortchanging energy efficiency translates to lost benefits totaling hundreds of millions of dollars for hardworking Mainers.

Last week, the Maine Public Utilities Commission closed the latest chapter (for now) in the ongoing saga that is the demise of Spectra’s Access Northeast Project when it decided to indefinitely postpone its proceedings on the ill-conceived natural gas pipeline proposal. Previously, the Commission decided to move forward with a contract for natural gas capacity…

… What has happened to the Maine Public Utilities Commission? It used to be a respite from politics, relying on a strong staff, expert opinion and transparent analysis to guide Maine’s energy policy. But recent decisions show that our current PUC has little regard for its staff or the opinions of the expert consultants it…

… Conservation Law Foundation attorney Ben Tettlebaum joins the Beacon podcast this week to discuss the decision by the members of the Maine Public Utilities Commission to ignore the recommendations of their own staff and potentially allow fossil fuel companies to bankroll a new, risky gas pipeline with public funds. “The fossil fuel industry hoodwinked the PUC…

… That’s because the Conservation Law Foundation has argued that the state doesn’t have legislation authorizing one. “If Massachusetts cannot move forward than that presents a substantial obstacle to Maine actually going forward with the contract because they constitute a significant portion of the load in the region,” Tettlebaum says. Read more here…

One year ago, CLF was fighting to ensure Maine’s energy savings champion – Efficiency Maine Trust – could receive the funding needed to reduce your electricity bill, create clean-energy-sector jobs, strengthen the economy, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. CLF and our allies won that battle. But the war is not over. This year, the fight turned to whether Efficiency…